David Defever

The Division-I Lady Spartan hockey team’s season came to an end this past March in Delaware.

Michigan State earned a bid to nationals where they competed for a championship during the tournament, but unfortunately came up short.

The Spartans failed to advance to the semi-finals after losing their first two games (5-1 to Miami of Ohio and 4-3 to Rhode Island.) In their third and final game of the tournament, MSU defeated Michigan 4-3 in overtime.

Tom Izzo has never coached a senior that has not made it to the Final Four. A win on Sunday against the Connecticut Huskies will continue that incredible streak.

No. 7 UConn is a bit of a surprise team to make it to the Elite Eight, beating No. 10 St. Joseph’s, No. 2 Villanova and No. 3 Iowa State on its way. The Huskies are led by arguably the best point guard in the nation, Shabazz Napier.

Madison Square Garden will be rocking Friday night when two of college basketball’s hottest teams face off for a bid to the Elite Eight.

No. 1 Virginia cruised through their first two games of the tournament, beating No. 16 Coastal Carolina and No. 8 Memphis by a combined 29 points. The Cavaliers earned the No. 1 seed by beating Duke in the ACC Tournament and have one of the best defenses in the nation.

Michigan State undoubtedly had one of the best defenses in the nation last season. However, after losing six starting defensive players due to graduation, coordinator Pat Narduzzi has his work cut out for him in 2014.

Tom Anastos, head coach of the Michigan State men’s hockey team, addressed the media for one last time Tuesday. In his third season behind the bench, Anastos and his Spartans recorded an 11-18-7 overall record and went 5-9-6-4 in conference play.

Anastos’ opening statement recapped his team’s play in the Big Ten Tournament, and said that, “from a performance standpoint, we were obviously disappointed.”

Harvard almost blew up everybody’s bracket on Saturday night. That is, if your bracket has not already been blown up.

With 17:38 remaining in the game, a Branden Dawson throw-down gave the No. 4 seeded Spartans a 16-point lead and all of the momentum they needed to bury No. 12 Harvard, but the Crimson pulled the upset in the second round, and they had their eyes on the Sweet Sixteen.

The road to North Texas started out on the right foot Thursday, as Michigan State soundly defeated their first round opponent, No. 13 Delaware.

Adreian Payne played like a man among boys from start to finish, scoring 23 points in the first half alone. MSU muscled their way to a quick 18-point lead with less than six minutes to go in the first half, but Delaware made a run and cut the deficit to 11 by halftime.

Scott Moore, the voice of Michigan State hockey, joins David Defever for another episode of Behind the Mask recapping MSU’s final weekend of Big Ten and regular season play, along with a preview and predictions of the upcoming Big Ten tournament in Minneapolis, Minn.

Michigan State heads into the Big Ten tournament as a No. 5 seed and will face off against No. 4 Ohio State, a team they have tied three times in the regular season, on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. ET at the Xcel Energy Center.

The regular season is finally over, and the fun can officially begin. March college basketball is perhaps the most entertaining basketball in the world, and we are right in the middle of it. The Big Ten tourney kicks off on Thursday in Indianapolis, Ind. so here is a prediction of every game in the first round.